Colorado mother pries open jaw of mountain lion to save 5-year-old son

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June 19, 2016 10:56 PM EDT

A 5-year-old boy is recovering in the hospital after his mother pried open the jaw of a mountain lion that attacked him outside the family's Aspen, Colo., home Friday.

The boy's father called 911 around 8 p.m. to report the attack, according to a release from the Pitkin County Sheriff's Office. The father told 911 that he was driving his son to Aspen Valley Hospital and abruptly hung up.

The boy's mother told police he had been playing outside with his older brother when she heard screaming. When she saw the mountain lion on her son she jumped into action.

"She was able to pry the cat's jaws open," Deputy Michael Buglione told The Aspen Times. "She's a hero."

The 5-year-old was later flown to Children's Hospital in Denver for treatment to his face, head and neck.

Buglione told The Aspen Times deputies and an officer from the U.S. Forest Service found the mountain lion at the scene of the attack and put it down.